There has long been a rumour, among Americans
who are interested
in Indonesia, that there is in this predominantly Islamic
country, only one synagogue, reportedly in he city of Surabaya.
Surabaya is the third largest city in the country, a major port located
in the eastern
part of the island of Java, the most densely populated island in
the world. From July, 1988 to July, 1989, my wife and I have been
living in Indonesia doing musical research.
We had decided, before we arrived, to try to locate this synagogue and
meet the Jewish community there.

Indonesia has only five official religions,
and Judaism is not
one of them. When we arrived here, we became interested in
visiting the synagogue, if it actually existed. With the
help of another Fulbright scholar here in Solo, we located
it and made plans to show up there the day before Yom Kippur. We had no
idea what to expect.

We took the train from our home in Surakarta,
about 8 hours away,
and went directly to the address we had for the synagogue.
We found there an interesting, extraordinarily diverse,
polyglot group of Jews who welcomed us graciously, and were
very interested in contact with Jews from other countries. We
fasted and said Yom Kippur with them, and got to know several
of them well.

The synagogue and the Jewish comunity there
have had little
contact with Jews from outside Indonesia. It seems to
be the only such community in this country. They are badly
in need of books, particularly for the synagogue (they have
no Torah at present), Jewish
cultural materials (for instance, they have no Passover wine), and more
importantly, visitors. Surabaya
is a short distance from Bali, which is a popular and fashionable
vacation spot for many Northern Californians. The Jews in Surabaya
would more than welcome visitors..

The comunity is a state of rapid intermarriage
and assimilation,
and many expressed the need for their own members to be
educated in Judiasism and Jewish culture, but they are without
the means to do this. There is no teacher at present in the
synagogue. Astonishingly, they are committed
to keeping the building and community intact even though
services have not been held there (with the exception of the
one we said this year) for many years.

Each member of the comunity had a unique and
extraordinary life story. Some of these
people had been all over the world as a result of political
and social upheavals, but had somehow wound up returning to
this isolated and fascinating enclave of Judiaism in
an unlikely place. Their stories, to my knowledge, have
not been documented. This community would, I think, be a fertile
source for Jewish oral historians, documentary filmmakers,
or anyone interested in preserving a record of the diversity of world
Jewish culture. Many of the people there
are quite old, and it seemed to us important that
their stories be recorded as soon as possible. We are hoping that
among the readers of this article there will be someone qualified
and interested enough to undertake this task.

[photos enclosed: Rivka Sayers and
grandaughter; other members of
the Surabayan Jewish comunity. Photos by Jody Diamond]

[Note to editor: unfortunately we do not have
the full names of the
two men in the other two pictures. If those pictures are used,
and you think it necessary, contact Rivka Sayers at the above address
by mail to supply their names.]